Rotary engine.



c. EBTHB-RINGTON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION Hum APR. 14, 1903.

Pafiented Feb. 2, 1 909.'

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ROTARY ENGINE. I APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1908.

Patented Feb. 2', 1909.

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G, HBTHERINGTON. ROTARY ENGINE.

A11LIOAT ION FILED: APR. 14, 190a.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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AiTTOR NE Y5.

CHARLES HETHERINGTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ROTARY ENGINE;

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

Application filed April 14, 1908. Serial No. 426,962.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OI-iARLEs IIETHERING- TON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to'provide a new and improved elastic fluid motor in which there shall be no reciprocating parts. This object and various other objects of detail in connection therewith will be madcapparent in the following specification and claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved engine. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the steam ports and associated parts, the casing being broken away for this purpose. Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 of Figs. 1 and 2, this view being intended to further illustrate the arrangement of the inlet steam ports. passages, the cover plate being removed.

While I refer to steam in this specification, I desire to state that any elastic pressure fluid is deemed by me to be the equivalent thereof,

as will be obvious to those skilled in this art.

The engine casing comprises a peripheral casing member 15 having an intermediate partition 25 cast integral therewith. On one side of this partition 25 is a disk orwheel 16 fixed upon the shaft 18. On the same side of the partition 25 and with its periphery in contact with the periphery of the wheel 16 is another wheel or disk 17 On the other side of the partition 25 are similarly arranged wheels or disks .16 and. 17, the members 16 and 17 being both fixed on the shaft 18 and the members 17 and 16 being both fixed on the shaft 19. At this point I desire to exe plain that the elements designated by referencenumerals with primes attached thereto correspond to the elements, respectively,

designated by the same numerals without the primes, one set of parts being found on one side of the partition 25 and the other set of parts being found on the other sideof the same partition. r

On one side the casing is closed by a cover plate 20 and on the other side by a similar cover plate 21,.these cover plates .having journals to support the rotary shafts 18 and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the steam extent of the periphery of the disk 16.

19. Outside of the casing, comprehended between the two cover plates 21 and 24 are intermeshing gear wheels 22 and 23 mounted, respectively, on the shafts 18 and 19. These are inclosed by a shell 24 which is intended to protect them from dirt or damage by other means. It is to be noted however, that the compartment between the plates 21 and 24 is not a steam compartment, while the two compartments between the cover plates 20 and 21 and the intermediate partition 25 are intended to withstand steam pressure. p

The wheel 16 has two flanges 26 about its periphery which inclose a space 27 between them- At one point there is a radial web 36 which extends across the space 27 and constitutes a piston, as will be explained later. In proximity to this piston on one side thereof, both flanges26 have steam ports 28 and 29 cutthrough, as illustrated in 1 igs. 3 and 4. The live steam supply ipe 33 leads through the cover plate 34 whic 1s bolted on the seat 35, whence the live steam passage extends through the casing to the ports 30, 31, 31 and 32, the arrangement of these parts being best seen in Fig. 4. It should be explained at this point, however, that the section on which Fig. 4 is taken is not all in one lane, but the planes are displaced relative y on either side of the intermediate partition 25 so as to show all of the ports just referred to in section. It will be noted that the ports in the flanges, 28 and 29, register with the ports in the casings, 30 and 31, on the left side of the partition 25 but not on the right side, as viewed in Fig. 4. It will alsobe noted that the ports 28 and 32 register as viewed in Fig. 3. The disk 17 which is in the same plane as the piston bearing disk 16 has a peripheral rim 37 which contacts the bottom of the channel 27 of the piston bearing disk 16, fitting closely in between the flanges 26. At one point in itscircumference, however, this rim 37 is cut away in a notch 38 which is to make room for the piston 36. The casing member 15 extends across over the flanges 26 and thus incloses the space 27 over the greater closure terminates below, as indicated by the reference numeral 39, and just beyond this point the exhaust passage 40 is formed between the wall39 and the neighboring disk 17. The exhaust steam passes from the passage 40 through the casing and out through the opening 41.

l/Vhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the live steam has access down through the pipe 33 and the branch passages 30 and 31 to the ports 28 and 29 in the flanges 26. Thus the live steam fills in the space which is bounded in front by the piston 36, behind by the rim 37 of the wheel 17, and on the sides by the flanges 26. The rim 37 of the wheel 17 thus constitutes an abutment. The pressure of the steam on the piston 36 pushes the wheel 16 around in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1. This movement carries the ports 28 and 29 in the flanges 26 past the live steam passages 30 and 31, thus closing the space behind the piston 36 and permitting the steam therein to expand. The pressure of this expanding steam pushes the piston 36 on around until it reaches the point 39, whereupon the steam behind the piston 36 exhausts through the passage 40. The gears 22 and 23 on the respective shafts 18 and 19 are so related that as the two wheels 16 and 17 rotate, the piston 36 on one of them registers with a notch 38 011 the other, and thus an opportunity is afforded for the iston 36 to get past the rim 37 which normal y forms an abutment filling the space 27. The pistons 36 and 36 on the two wheels 16 and 16 are set so that the steam ports 28 and 29 on the one and 28 and 29on the other pass their respective inlet steam openings in the casing, in alternation. Thus, it will be seen that while the piston 36 is traveling from the point 39 up to the position indicated in Fig. 1, it is receiving no pressure from the live steam, but at this time the piston 36 is receiving the pressure of expanding steam behind it. Thus, in the normal operation of the engine there is always pressure behind one or the other of the two pistons 36 and 36.

The duplex arrangement of the ports 28 j and 29 and the steam passages 30 and 31 leading thereto serve to balance the steam pressure on the flanges 26, which I consider a very advantageous feature.

This engine can be operated compound by combining units like the one described, the exhaust passage from one such unit being connected to the inlet passage to the next unit, and the successive units being made in increasing size. It will also be obvious to one skilled in this art that this type of motor can readily be adapted to use as an explosive engine, or that-it can be driven backward as an air compressor. The steam inlet valves are constituted by the ports in the flanges 26 which are in the same structure with the piston, all being integral parts of the disk or wheel 16'; thus, the valves are positively actuated and thereby certainty and preeision of operation are attained. l

I claim 1. In a rotary engine, a doubly flanged disk, hav ng a piston extending across be tween the flanges, steam inlet ports in the flanges adjacent to the piston on one side thereof, an abutment disk in the same plane therewith, its periphery extending between the flanges of the iirst named disk, a notch in the periphery of the abutment disk to accommodate the piston, and gearing connecting the two disks.

In rotary engine, a doubly flanged disk, having a piston extending across between the flanges, ports in the flanges adjacent to the piston on one side thereof, a casing for the dish, steam passages leading through the casing to openings adapted to register with said ports in the flanges, and an abutment disk to coact with said. piston.

3. In a rotary engine, a mtatable disk having a radial piston on its periphery, a casing embracing the disk and adapted to be contacted by the outer edge of the said piston, asteam inlet passage leading through the casin to a point adj aeent the disk, means to close said passage except for a limited time when the piston has just passed it, and an exhaust passage formed by cutting away the casing at a point adjacent to the path ol travel of the piston.

I t. In a rotary engine, two parallel sha'l'ts, a disk bearing a radial piston mounted on each shaft, a notched abutment disk mounted on each shaft opposite the piston disk on the other shaft, intermeshing gears on the two shafts, and a casing with steam ports adjacent the paths of travel of the pistons, the pistons on the two disks being positioned so that they will pass their respective ports alternately.

5. In a rotary engine, two parallel shalts, a disk bearing a radial piston mounted on each shaft, a rotehed abutment disk IHUUHted on each shaft opposite the piston disk on the other shalt, a casing for these disks, steam passages leading througl'i the casing to the piston disks at points near the respective abutment disks, and. exhaust passages leading away from the piston disks at points near the respective abutment disks on the opposite side of the casing from the inlet passages.

6. In a rotary engine, a short cylindrical chamber, doubly flanged disk within said chamber, a piston across betn een the flanges, a port in a flange behind the piston, a steam inlet opening in the casing adjacent the path of travel of the port in the flange, an exhaust port formed by cutting away the circumferential wall o1 the chamber at another point, and an abutment to enact with the piston.

7. In a rotary engine, a casing having a partition extending across 1t, a disk with a radial piston and a rotary abutment geared In testimony whereof, I have subscribed thereto by a one to one gear onone side of my name.

the partition, corresponding members sirnilarly geared together on the other side of the CHARLES, HETHERINGTON I partition, rotary shafts supporting said Witnesses:

members extending across the partition. and ANNIE O. OOURTENAY, gearlng connecting sald shafts. ANNA L. SAVOIE. 

